11 h. ago High stakes and a shot at silverware: WTC final will sparkle despite critics

It may not be the pinnacle of cricket’s most storied format but it does provide a spectacle beyond established rivalriesIt was the pandemic that forced the first World Test Championship final to be staged at the biosecure Rose Bowl in 2021, then commercial snags that led to it being held at the Oval two years later. But having been intended for both, Lord’s finally gets its chance this week, the defending champions Australia taking on South Africa for the right to lift the oversized Chupa Chup that is the ICC Test Championship Mace.This will probably prompt eyerolls in some territories, even if June ruled out a fair number of them from acting as hosts. Another argument in favour of Lord’s is the ground’s history and prestige coupled with London’s diversity. Despite England not making the final, likewise India and their jet- set supporters, the first four days in St John’s Wood are sold out. Where else in the world could guarantee this turnout for a “neutral” final? Continue reading...

Events

13 h. ago England v West Indies: third men’s T20 cricket international – live

T20 updates from Southampton; start 6.30pm BSTWTC final news | Sign up for The Spin | Email James We’ll be underway in less than ten minutes. Just enough time to dig into Don McRae’s wide reaching interview with Pat Cummins on the eve of the WTC Final. Some topics were still off-limits though But the ball-tampering saga remains an awkward topic. He listens quietly while I tell him about my 2021 interview with Cameron Bancroft who, as a callow opening batter trying to find his way in Test cricket, followed instructions to use sandpaper to rough up the ball. His captain, Steve Smith, David Warner and Bancroft were banned and the batter, when pressed on whether any of the bowlers had known of the plan, told me that “it’s probably self-explanatory”.Cummins took seven wickets in that Test, which Australia lost heavily, and I ask if he really had no idea what was being done to the ball. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he says bluntly.” Continue reading...

Events

19 h. ago How South Africa can finally shed ‘chokers’ tag against Australia to shake up Test cricket

South Africa’s path to Lord’s has been criticised by some, but, as Harry Latham-Coyle writes, the imperfect World Test Championship final against Australia brings a chance to rejuvenate a format under siege

Politics

21 h. ago Good Morning Britain's Andi Peters swaps the Maldives for grey skied Hampshire village after ITV stops flying presenters to luxury destinations amid budget cuts

MailOnline yesterday revealed how the broadcaster has stopped sending Andi and Jeff Brazier to luxury locations including South Africa and Thailand, to promote their competitions.

Politics

35 h. ago Pat Cummins: ‘We want to play hard and fair, and I think we’ve got it right’

The Australia captain talks about leading the side against South Africa and not getting too big for his boots – but plays a dead bat regarding the Bairstow dismissal at Lord’sAs Pat Cummins opens up at the pavilion end, while gazing across the vast empty space of Lord’s a few days before Australia face South Africa in the World Test Championship final, it’s clear that the unexpected opponents this week have helped to frame his remarkable career.On Wednesday morning, while towering a foot over Temba Bavuma, his 5ft 3in South African counterpart, Cummins will lead Australia for the 34th time, in his 68th Test. The fast bowler stands at the summit of world cricket, his grizzled matinee idol charm allied to the grit which has helped him to become such a successful captain. Australia have won almost everything during his tenure of three and a half years and they are expected to retain their Test title. Continue reading...

Politics

39 h. ago Australia v South Africa: where the World Test Championship final will be won and lost

There are subplots aplenty in the winner-takes-all contest between the once familiar foes at Lord’s Defending champions Australia face the No 1 team in the 2023-25 World Test Championship cycle with South Africa out to claim the crown for the first time and finally put to bed their “chokers” tag. Australia have played their part as much as any side in stamping that label on South Africa across three decades, but much of that pain and misery could be washed away with a shock triumph at Lord’s.South Africa might be the underdogs but topped the WTC table after taking 69.44% of their possible points from 12 Tests, with Australia the clear next best on 67.54% from 19 matches. The once familiar foes did not meet over the past two years but with an intense rivalry always simmering below the surface and a winner-takes-all contest sure to light a fuse, we look at where the WTC final will be won and lost. Continue reading...

Sport

40 h. ago When will a team from North America, Asia or Africa win the men’s World Cup?

In this mailbag edition of Jonathan Wilson’s newsletter, he answers questions about inverted wingers, favorite jerseys and moreSign up for Soccer with Jonathan Wilson hereWe’re now a year-ish from the World Cup. The tournament is still dominated by European and South American teams. But which continent without a winner (Asia, Africa, Central and North America and, I guess, Oceania) has the best chance of lifting the trophy first?– Stacey Continue reading...

Politics

40 h. ago ITV STOPS flying Andi Peters and Jeff Brazier to luxury destinations to promote competitions amid job cuts

ITV has stopped sending Andi Peters and Jeff Brazier to far-flung locations across the globe such as the Maldives, South Africa and Thailand, to plug the broadcaster's competitions.

Politics

40 h. ago Steve Smith not thinking about Ashes as Australia prepare for World Test final

Australia will face South Africa at Lord’s as they look to retain their title.

Politics

41 h. ago ‘Too many people lost work’: doubts in South Africa’s coal belt over ‘just energy transition’

The country wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions without destroying livelihoods, but progress is slow – and the residents of a small town are in the crosshairsCooling towers and smokestacks still loom over the single-storey houses of Komati, but the winter sky is clear: smoke hasn’t billowed from the vast concrete chimneys of the South African town’s power station since it stopped burning coal in 2022, 61 years after its inauguration.While the state power company Eskom didn’t fire any permanent employees, the end of coal generation and earlier job losses in nearby mines have fuelled doubts in the small town and wider coal belt that there are any benefits to South Africa’s “just energy transition” to renewable power. Continue reading...

Politics

41 h. ago ‘We are just sitting here’: South African coal belt town split over green transition

The country wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions without destroying livelihoods, but progress is slow – and the residents of a small town are in the crosshairsCooling towers and smokestacks still loom over the single-storey houses of Komati, but the winter sky is clear: smoke hasn’t billowed from the vast concrete chimneys of the South African town’s power station since it stopped burning coal in 2022, 61 years after its inauguration.While the state power company Eskom didn’t fire any permanent employees, the end of coal generation and earlier job losses in nearby mines have fuelled doubts in the small town and wider coal belt that there are any benefits to South Africa’s “just energy transition” to renewable power. Continue reading...

Politics

42 h. ago ITV STOPS flights for Andi Peters and Jeff Brazier to luxury destinations to promote competitions amid job cuts

ITV has stopped sending Andi Peters and Jeff Brazier to far-flung locations across the globe such as the Maldives, South Africa and Thailand, to plug the broadcaster's competitions.

Politics

63 h. ago Heartache turns to hope as South Africa seek to shake ‘chokers’ tag in WTC final | Daniel Gallan

The Proteas choking when it matters most is a tale as old as the country itself as history again weighs heavy on their World Test Championship hopesA South African cricket fan’s standout World Cup catastrophe will depend on when they were born. Baby boomers cite the time, back in 1992, when Brian McMillan was left needing 22 runs off one ball after rain in Sydney washed away any hope of a chase. Millennials are forever haunted by Alan Donald’s dropped bat in that tied semi-final in 1999. Gen Zs must still be wondering how Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller failed to get over the line with 30 needed off as many balls in last year’s T20 final.The Proteas choking when it matters most is a tale as old as the country itself. Longer, in fact, if you consider that Nelson Mandela was elected president two years after this story began. And throughout it all, one antagonist has loomed largest. Continue reading...

Politics

2 d. ago South Africa’s Deputy President spent R346,000 a night in London using taxpayer money

South Africa’s Deputy President spent R346,000 a night in London using taxpayer money  Business Tech

Economics

3 d. ago ‘I was locked in the bathroom sulking’: Temba Bavuma on his path from township to WTC final

The South Africa captain talks about street cricket in Langa, adapting to new schools after a scholarship and why playing at Lord’s means so much“There was always some sort of allegiance with Lord’s when we were growing up in Langa,” Temba Bavuma says of his childhood as a township boy living just outside Cape Town. Bavuma, the first black cricketer to captain South Africa, will lead his country against Australia in the World Test Championship final, which begins at Lord’s on Wednesday.In the quintessentially English surroundings of Arundel, the 5ft 3in Bavuma looks as if he has gone back to being a kid in the dusty townships. “In Langa we had a four-way street,” he says, his face crinkling with the memories. “On the right-hand side of the street the tar wasn’t done so nicely and we used to call it Karachi because the ball would bounce funny. The other side was the MCG [Melbourne Cricket Ground] but my favourite section of the street was clean, and done up nicely, and we called...

Politics

4 d. ago All branches of major UK high street supermarket could be sold to 'mystery buyer'

Currently owned by South Africa's SPAR Group, the UK arm of the SPAR Group is run by the Appleby Westward Group – and has more than 1,750 stores across the country

Economics

4 d. ago Children plummet from bouncy castle blown away in front of terrified parents

Two children were left with injuries after the untethered bouncy castle was carried high into the air by a gust of wind at a school event in Krugersdorp, South Africa

Society

4 d. ago Terrifying moment two children cheat death after falling from bouncy castle blown 40 feet into the air during school fund

The horror happened during a fund-raising day at a school in South Africa when an unexpected gust caused the apparently untethered inflatable to take flight.

Society

4 d. ago Stuart Broad to help out South Africa bowlers but not interested in coaching job

Broad will join the Proteas as a consultant for one day ahead of their World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord’s.

Politics

5 d. ago Brit, 73, strangled to death with own belt in horror South Africa phone robbery

Retired Brit Karl Lauks, 73, was brutally killed on his driveway when he was strangled with his own belt after coming home from the pub, in South Africa - police said a 29-year-old has been arrested

Events